Research and innovation
As one of the world’s elite, research-intensive universities, we will be known for our trusted, reproducible, transformative, open research and accessible data.
We will be recognised for leading teams in resolving real-world challenges that are critical to the planet and its people.
- Priorities
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- Focus our research on resolving the world’s Grand Challenges to improve lives and our environment.
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- Engage in research that is digitally driven and data-intensive.
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- Be the world leader in open, accessible and trusted research.
Strategies
Be a trusted source of open and accessible research
UWA will be recognised and trusted globally for our open and reproducible research. As far as is possible, our research and its data will be discoverable and easily accessible, ensuring it can have a timely and positive influence on other researchers, industry, government and the broader community. Our influence will be evident in the richness of our partnerships and our standing as leaders – and as university research partners of choice – in the Indian Ocean Rim.
We will be renowned as the pre-eminent and trusted partner in Australia and the region for research that focuses on the challenges facing countries on the Indian Ocean Rim and the world.
Drive research excellence through world-leading collaboration
We will be renowned as the pre-eminent and trusted partner in Australia and the region for research that focuses on the challenges facing countries on the Indian Ocean Rim and the world. These partnerships will be across industry, community, philanthropy and government, and be both national and international.
We will leverage the expertise of our staff and our research investments to create new partnership opportunities for a wide range of major research projects and to drive greater engagement in large-scale research programs – especially those linked to our Grand Challenges.
Our researchers will be comfortable working in multinational interdisciplinary teams, where we are often the lead organisation. Our research training will consistently produce highly skilled and highly employable graduates with sought-after skill sets and capabilities. Our postgraduate research students will have opportunities to pursue their research training across these partner institutions.
We will be acclaimed for the exceptional quality of our research and consulting abilities, our talent, and the opportunities we can provide for professional advancement.
Invest strategically in data-intensive discovery
Our research will be data-led and will use the most cutting-edge methods, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Our staff will have a deep understanding of these new technologies and, as leaders in their fields, will have their finger on the pulse of the latest research and technological developments relevant to their work.
We will build globally important research databases in our areas of research focus by capitalising on our existing collections. These will include, for example, our longitudinal health, crop and soil, and radioastronomy databases, and the digitisation of our unique cultural collections.
We will invest in areas that align with our research focus and build capacity in the places where it can have the greatest effect.
Champion Indigenous knowledge and research
UWA’s Indigenous Research Strategy will empower and lead research growth and capacity within Indigenous communities. We will achieve this by building more respectful and robust connections and relationships through engagement and culturally determined research.
Be the vanguard of innovative, well-resourced research infrastructure
We will heavily invest in research infrastructure of global significance – both as a contributor and a custodian. We will have world-leading research capacity in areas as diverse as radioastronomy and supercomputing, cultural curation, clinical medicine, ecology and biodiversity, and resources engineering.
We will invest in areas that align with our research focus and build capacity in the places where it can have the greatest effect. We will leverage these investments by maintaining and expanding local, national and international partnerships – including those with industry, government and other universities – to accelerate positive outcomes for business, industry and society.
Measures of success
- Increased and diversified research income, across grants, government, industry, international and philanthropy, and for research infrastructure.
- Increased HDR enrolment, completions, retention and satisfaction, including for Indigenous, regional, international and under-represented student groups.
- Improvements in research rankings across key systems, including subject ranks.
- Increasing the quality and impact of our publications.
- Increased external investment in facilities, growing numbers of digital collections, expanded users of facilities and partners.
- Greater numbers of staff recognised for their contributions.